Kesari Bhaat - Saffron Rice

Kesari Bhaat -Saffron Rice

Ingredients

1 cup rice 

1.5 cups sugar to make a syrup.

2-3 cloves

2 tsp Ghee

1 tsp Saffron

Elaichi powder ( green cardamom powder )

Almonds

Raisins

Procedure

Soak the saffron in 50 cc water and keep aside

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat the ghee. Once heated, add the cloves.

Add the washed rice. Saute for a few minutes. Add 1-2 cups water and cook the rice. Add a pinch of salt . Add the soaked saffron while rice is cooking.

Once the rice is cooked, remove from saucepan and spread it out on a big plate.

Place sugar in a saucepan with a 1/2 cup of water and make a syrup. You should be able to make  a small tight ball with a drop of syrup. Turn the heat down to low. 

Add the rice to the sugar syrup. Add Elaichi powder, almonds and raisins. Once you add all this the syrup tends to become a little more fluid. Continue to stir till all the syrup is soaked up by the rice and thickens. 

Cover for 4-5 minutes. Turn the heat off.

Saffron rice is ready to serve. 

Tilache Ladoo

Tilache Ladoo

Ingredients

250 gms Sesame seeds

100 gms raw peanuts

50 gms Dried coconut flakes

250 gms "Chikki Cha Gul" ..a special kind of Jaggery

1 tsp cardamom powder

1 tbs ghee

Procedure:

Toast the sesame seeds on a low flame till they puff up a little.

Toast the peanuts. Once cool, remove the skin. Place peanuts in a grinder and give it a quick whirl to brake into smaller pieces.

Toast the dried coconut till golden brown. Once dry and crisp, crush into a coarse powder.

In a bowl mix together the sesame seeds, peanuts, coconut and cardamom powder. Keep aside. (Optional: Can also add other dried fruits )

For Jaggery Syrup:

Shave/grate the jaggery onto smaller pieces.

Place in a heavy bottomed saucepan on a low to medium heat. Add the ghee. Stir continuously till a syrup forms.

To check correct consistency: add a small drop of syrup to a bowl of cold water. It will quickly cool. Remove from water and form into a small ball. It should be firm. 

Remove the syrup from the stove. Add the sesame seed, peanut and coconut mixture to this. Stir to mix.

Transfer to a platter.

Scoop up a small amount at a time and roll into small ball.

Set aside to cool. They will firm up as they cool.

HOLI !

Holi is widely known as the festival of colours.
Celebrated throughout India it is a time of merriment and of course great food! My daughters love ( पुरण पोळी) Puran Poli...and couldnt wait to eat them right off the pan...sizzling and dripping with ghee.
Here's how you make this mouth-watering treat.
I make the one known as "tel poli"  तेल पोळी not the readily available "peeth poli" पीठ
पोळी

Puran Poli Recipe

1 cup "चना दाल " split chick peas.
1 1/4 cup grated jaggery
2 cups all purpose flour "मैदा "
Oil safflower/ canola . Do not use olive oil.
Powdered nutmeg
Powdered green cardamom "वेलची "
Salt to taste
Banana leaves or parchment paper.
1 Onion cut across.

For the filling
Soak the chick peas for a couple of hours ( makes the cooking time shorter)
Add water and cook till daal softens and can be mashed into a soft paste. Simmer till most of the water is reduced.
Add the grated jaggery and stir till uniform. (consistency similar to mashed potatoes). It should be a little moist , but not wet or too dry.
Let cool.
If you have a food mill, run it through that so that you get a nice soft even paste.
Add powdered cardamom and nutmeg.

For the covering:
Make a dough of the flour. Pour oil over it till it is immersed in it. Cover and set aside for at least an hour.

Procedure:
Make small balls of the filling and keep.
On a clean table/platform, spread the banana leaf/parchment paper and brush the surface with oil (liberally). In a small bowl, pour  just a little oil ( to coat the bottom)and put the onion( cut side down) in it. (Do not immerse it..this is just the "brush" to spread the oil on your frying pan)
Take a small ball of the dough (make sure you keep the rest immersed under the oil).
With your fingers make a small patty of the dough keeping the middle thicker than the edges. Place the ball of filling in the center and pull up the edges around it to cover the filling completely.
Place this on the banana leaf. (the side where you connected all the edges face down).
With a light touch...with the flat of your fingers slowly start pushing on it till it flattens. Use a well oiled rolling pin and lightly roll it out like a "chapati". Do not rush this step. You want the filling to stay inside. Keep doing this till the flour covering appears almost a transluscent skin over the filling. You should be able to see the filling through it. (Do not be disheartened if you cant get this the first time around).

Heat up your pan. Take the cut onion and dip it in oil. Spread this oil on the hot pan.
Lift up the banana leaf with the "poli" on it. Very carefully invert the leaf over the pan so that the "poli is now on the pan. Peel off the leaf (carefully) from the poli.
The combination of the poli on the pan, with the oil spread by the onion and the sizzling of the banana leaf gives off an aroma that stays with you.
Once you see the covering puff up, you can flip the poli to cook the other side.

Remove from pan and drizzle ghee over it.
Do not stack warm polis over each other...they will stick. Wait till a little cool.
Can stay for 2-3 days in an airtight container. After that, place in fridge. If you want to store it longer you can freeze them. To eat, warm it up, drizzle ghee over it and enjoy!

Enjoy!

Chivda

Diwali is a time of lights and of course, foods..mainly sweets. Kanole ( कानोले ), Anarse (अनारसे ),..all mouth watering sweet treats. 
To balance these there are spicy treats of Chakli (चकली ) and  Chivda (चिवडा ).

 Here is a recipe for Chivda. Traditionally we use flattened  rice or Pohe (पोहे ).  While visiting my daughter I saw she had a toasted puffed rice cereal ( which I never did see her eat..so I thought why not make Chivda with this ) which worked equally well.

"Chivda" Recipe

Ingredients:

1 box of Trader Joe's Toasted puffed rice cereal or Pohe which is flattened rice.

Olive oil or Canola oil
100-150 gm Peanuts - raw, unsalted and cleaned.
100 gms Golden raisins
100 - 150 gms Cashews - roasted , preferably unsalted. Lightly salted will do.
3-5 Green chillies. chopped. About 0.5 cm in length.
10-12 cloves of garlic finely julienned.
10-12 curry leaves.
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/4 tsp Asafoedita.
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 - 3/4 tsp  sugar

Method.
To a pan, add about 2 tbs of oil. Once the oil is hot add the peanuts and fry till they start to become slightly golden brown. Remove and put on paper towel to drain the oil.
Next add the cashews to the oil and fry till slightly golden brown. Remove.
Alternately you can roast these in an oven.
Next add the green chillies. You will see them blister and change colour. Remove from pan at that point, Do not char.
Next saute the Garlic till golden brown and crisp. Remove.
Lastly fry the raisins. They will puff up and the skin starts to turn whitish opaque. Remove from pan. I fry these last because anything that is fried in the same oil after the raisins ends up tasting sweet.
It is important to fry each of these separately as each of these require different frying times. If you notice the oil getting cloudy or brown, change the oil or else the oil will discolour whatever you fry in it.
If you use Pohe. Roast ( no oil) these slowly on medium heat. They become crisp.

The next step.

In deep bottomed vessel ( should be able to fit the whole box of rice puffs) add a couple of tbs of oil. Once hot add the asafoedita, curry leaves and turmeric. They should splutter.Turn the heat down to low.  Then quickly add all the fried nuts, chillies and garlic and stir. Add some salt and sugar, mix well. Add the toasted rice puff cereal or pohe and mix well all on low heat. The cereal should get a little warm. Turn the heat off and let cool. Enjoy.
To store : let cool before putting in an airtight container.

Kanole

Diwali is the most important and widely celebrated festival in the Hindu Calender. Preparations for Diwali start almost a month ahead. Different foods are prepared specially for this time. Some are sweet, some are savoury. “Kanole (कानोले ), Laddoo (लाडू ), Chakli (चकली ), Shankarpali (शंकरपाळी ), Anarse (अनारसे ), Chivda (चिवडा )” usually are made at home. Nowadays these are also available in stores. Nothing is better than home-made. This holds true especially for Kanole.

Of these sweets “Kanole” is considered not only special for this festival but is also auspicious.
Making these is a labour of love and skill. They have to be light and the shell has to separate out in layers.
In the old days they used to say that if you dropped a silver rupee ( in the olden days there used to be a rupee made of actual silver) in a “dabba” (steel container) filled with Kanole…you should be able to hear the rupee ring as it hits the bottom. For the younger generation, what it means is that the kanole are so delicate that the rupee literally cuts through them unimpeded as it hits the bottom.

Here’s the recipe for this delicious treat.



Kanole.

1 vaati = ¾ cup= 200cc (approx)

Ingredients:
For Dough

Semolina - fine (Rava - रवा) 3/4 cup , (1 vaati - वाटी, about 200cc volume)

Milk and water mixed about 100 cc (1/2 vaati)
Ghee 4-6 tbs

For "Saaran" ( cannot come up with English equivalent)
Ghee
Cornflour

For Filling
Dried shredded powdered coconut - 1 vaati
Sugar- Fine powdered, sifted.
2 tbs White Poppy seeds
¼ tsp Cardamom powder
¼ tsp Nutmeg powder
Chapati (whole wheat) flour 2 tbs
Ghee

Procedure:
For filling
In a little ghee saute the chapati ( wheat)flour till the colour changes to a pinkish hue. Do not brown. As it cooks it gives off a very pleasant aroma.
In a pan roast the coconut till golden brown. Set aside.
Roast the poppy seeds. Again , they should be a little pinkish. Not brown. Watch carefully.
In a grinder dry grind the coconut and poppy seeds. (after cooling and each separately). Set aside.
Combine poppy seeds, coconut, add the sauteed wheat flour. Add equal quantity of sugar (or according to taste). It is OK to make it a little extra sweet since the sweetness reduces a bit after frying. Add nutmeg and cardamom powder.
Can store in an airtight container.

For the dough
Make a dough with the Semolina, and the milk and water. Can add a pinch of salt to taste. (If you cannot find fine semolina, grind the semolina finer before using it). Cover with a moist kitchen cloth and set this aside for 4-6 hours.
Rub this dough with ghee..generously. For the next step you need a strong base and something heavy like a stone pestle ( Varvanta - paata - Traditionally an implement made of stone ).
On the base keep the dough and pound it with the pestle. If it tears, add more ghee, roll it into a ball and pound flat. Keep doing this till the dough is soft and pliable. Takes about 30 minutes or so. Roll it back into a ball and keep aside under a moist kitchen cloth.

For the Saran
On large plate spread 2 tbs or so of ghee solids. With your fingers flattened to the plate rub it on the plate while spreading it from one end of the plate to another. Keep doing this till the ghee feels smooth and you cannot feel the grainy texture. This incorporates air in to the ghee and its texture changes. To this softened ghee ( looks like softened butter), slowly add cornflour little by little till you get a soft paste. (Consistency of sour cream).
Keep aside under a moist kitchen towel.

Now comes the tricky part. I suggest you have a nice cup of tea, put your feet up before embarking on the next phase.

Take the dough and divide it into 4 parts . Roll each part out to about 0.25 cm thick. With your finger push the dough down to make little troughs in the dough( not holes) close together.
Spread enough ‘saran’ to fill these dents and a thin layer over the dough. Now lift up one side and start rolling it to make a tight roll. Use cornflour so that your hands and the dough don't stick to the base / board. With your hands slowly roll this “roll” on the board lengthening it as you do so. Don't roll it back and forth. Go in one direction only. It should stretch out to almost double its length. Do this with the remaining dough as well.
Now twist off about an inch of the roll (do not cut). Hold both the ends of the little piece and with a twisting motion press it to form a little flattened piece of dough.



Keep doing this. Make sure you keep all the dough covered with a moist cloth at all times.
Once you are done with this step get together a few things.

A rolling pin, a base to roll on. A Ravioli or pastry cutter..’Katni’ . A bowl with equal parts of water and milk ( about ¼ - ½ the bowl.) for sealing the rim of the Kanole.. Cornflour and moist towels.
Roll out each small piece of dough. to form a circle. Roll from the center to the edges, not back and forth. Place the edge of your palm along one semicircle as a guide, place about a tsp or so of the filling on this circle.

Moisten the rim with the water/milk mixture (lightly) and fold over the bottom edge and close it to form a crescent shaped form. Press the edges together firmly with your finger tips pointing away from the center.


With the pastry cutter cut out the excess edge.





This is what a filled “kanola” looks like.
Keep doing this for all the dough. Again...make sure that you place all these under a moist cloth till you are ready to fry them.

In a deep “kadai” or saucepan, heat up ghee ( be generous- if you are counting calories, this is not the dish for you). The vessel has to be deep so that the Kanole do not touch the bottom.
Once the oil is heated fry each one separately or at the most 2 at a time ( requires patience. if you overcrowd it the temperature drops and they don't cook as well). Flip once. They are done when the layers start to separate.

If the filling leaks out in to the ghee strain the ghee and use it . If you leave it in the ghee it will discolour the rest of the “Kanole”. Don’t be lazy about this step. This will yield about 18- 20 medium sized Kanole.

Place the fried Kanole on a sieve and let drain. Once cool, enjoy!!

I usually make the filling a day before. The next morning I knead the dough and keep aside. In the 4- 6 hours it is kept aside, I make the saran and get the rest of the stuff ready. You can add saffron to the dough when you pound it to give it a little colour. I don’t add artificial food colouring for different colours as I don’t believe in it.

Total time: about 8 hours + (counts the time the dough rests. The + depends on how many you make and the time it takes to fry them.)

After all this is over, it is nearly time for dinner. At our house it has always been Chinese take-out. Don’t know how that came about but the kids loved the combination.

Gokulashtami

Gokulashtami (Lord Krishna's Birthday) is celebrated by everyone all over India. In our family, some women fast for the whole day and break the fast after midnight. (Lord Krishna's Birth time).
Different types of sweets are made for this day. Our family always makes a kheer from shelled wheat.

Shelled wheat is easily available in the stores today, but, I would always remove the shell of the wheat at home, which was a long process. Every year, my mother and I would shell it together and share the shelled wheat as well.

Kids also love this kheer.
It is made in a large quantity and can be eaten over a few days.
I would like to share the recipe for this kheer.

"Gavachi Kheer"  (Kheer made with shelled wheat)

Shelled wheat – 1 cup

Jaggery – 2 cups

Milk -  4 cups

Nutmeg powder – ½ tsp

Velchi powder – ½ tsp

Ghee (Clarified butter) -  ¼ tbs

In a pot, heat ghee. Add wheat and lightly saute it in the ghee for a couple of minutes on a low flame.

Add water and cook till the wheat cooks completely till it is soft.

Add jaggery,  nutmeg, cardamom powder and stir till it thickens.

Let the mixture cool till it reaches room temperature and then add milk (also at room temperature) slowly till you get the consistency that you prefer.
Constantly stir the mixture as you add the milk.

Heat the mixture again on a low flame till it reaches a boiling point and then turn the heat off.

It is now ready to eat.

Enjoy!!

Narali Bhaat

Today is Narali Punima and it is celebrated all over India and each one makes their own special coconut dish. 

Traditionally I make Narali Bhaat which is made with coconut milk and rice. 

The whole meal is similar to the meals made on shravan Fridays, but the sweet dish served is Narali Bhaat.

Recipe :

Ingredients :

Coconut Milk                             2 cups

Basmati Rice (washed)               1 cup

Jaggery        (grated)                 1 ½ cups

Cardamom                                 ½ tsp

Nutmeg Powder                         1 pinch

Raisins                                       ¼ cup

Almonds (peeled and sliced)        ¼ cup

Ghee (clarified butter)               1 tbsp

Procedure :

Add ghee to a heated pan and add rice and sauté it over a low flame for a couple of minutes. Add coconut milk and fully cook the rice in it. Add more coconut milk if needed to fully cook the rice. All different varieties of rice require different amounts of milk to cook.

Once the rice is cooked, take out in a big plate, spread it and let it cool.

In another pot take the grated jaggery and stir it till it becomes a smooth paste. Once it reaches a boil, take  some in a spoon and pour a drop of the paste in a bowl of water. If the drop is hard when removed from the water, the paste (paak) is ready to use. In Marathi that is called a pakka paak.

Lower the flame and add the rice to this paak. Stir for couple of minutes and add almonds, raisins and cardamom powder. You may add other dry fruits like pistachio and cashew.

Stir this all in the rice for couple of minutes and cover it and let it steam.

The rice is ready to eat!!

Enjoy!!